Haiti Day 2:

Sunday, blessings from heaven.

Today was a day of abundant blessings. After a smooth ride up to the church (they paved the road after the creek!), and reacquainting with some old friends at the church, we were blessed and warmed by the surprise appearance of Claude, the lead pastor of the Duplan church (who had been sick in the US for many months). Shortly thereafter we were reminded of the power and passion of the charismatic worship of the Duplan Methodist faithful. Elijah made a special trip during the service to pick up the conductor of the choir so they could perform special music in honor of our attendance. And boy, did they! We were mesmerized by the sound and passion that resonated throughout the church when they sang.

After the worship service our team was led on a tour of the Duplan clinic. Our tour guide, Lumere, showed us the just how far this project has come since our teams first started there. All that concrete, those buckets of gravel, the sanding, the tiling, and the painting has become source of pride within the Duplan community and the Methodist Church of Haiti as a whole. What a blessing and encouragement is was to see what God has created from the faithfulness of those who heeded the call to Pray, Give, and Go!

We were then invited to Pastor Gesner Paul’s residence to enjoy a lunch with him. As it turns out, it was actually a birthday party for Pastor Paul who was surrounded by his family. We here honored and humbled that we were so completely welcomed into his home for such an intimate celebration of his 60 years of life. He shared with us how God has used his life to serve him, and how He has blessed him because of it. He shared how he felt blessed that he was called to serve, and that he never stops thinking of how best to help the people here. He also shared his thankfulness on how God literally has saved his life in the past, allowing him to continue in His service.

Our team then had a chance to spend some time alone at the guesthouse in fellowship, still getting to know each other and getting to know each other’s story. Tonight’s devotion centered on the book of Job, and it reinforced the theme that is still emerging: That we do not know exactly what to expect this week, and that is OK. Trust in God, trust in His plan, and all will be well. We can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings when we finally start working in Duplan (and yes, school is in session, we get to see the children tomorrow!).